hot potato
Intermediate (B1-B2)Informal, primarily used in spoken English and journalism.
Definition
Meaning
A controversial or difficult issue that is uncomfortable to handle and which people prefer to avoid or pass to someone else.
Any situation, topic, or problem that is so sensitive, contentious, or risky that dealing with it is likely to cause trouble or embarrassment. The idiom implies urgency and the desire to get rid of the problem quickly.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The idiom is almost always used metaphorically. It focuses on the undesirable nature of the issue and the social/political pressure to avoid being stuck with it.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage and meaning are identical in both varieties. It is equally common.
Connotations
Same connotations of an awkward, urgent problem that is 'too hot to hold'.
Frequency
No significant difference in frequency; a core idiom in both dialects.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Subject] is a hot potato.[Subject] dropped [Object] like a hot potato.The hot potato of [Issue].Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “drop (someone/something) like a hot potato”
- “a political hot potato”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
"The proposed office relocation is a real hot potato; no manager wants to make the final decision."
Academic
"The historian treated the controversial origins of the treaty as a scholarly hot potato, citing a lack of reliable sources."
Everyday
"Who's going to tell Grandma we can't visit? That's a hot potato no one wants to handle."
Technical
Rarely used in highly technical contexts. More common in project management or policy discussions: "The data privacy requirement became a hot potato during the software design phase."
Examples
By Part of Speech
noun
British English
- The new parking charges are a political hot potato for the council.
- She dropped the hot potato of budget cuts onto her deputy's desk.
American English
- Immigration reform has been a hot potato in Congress for years.
- He inherited the hot potato of the failing project.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- This question is a hot potato. Let's ask the teacher.
- The broken printer is a hot potato; everyone is blaming someone else.
- The scandal became such a hot potato that the minister was forced to resign.
- The CEO deftly passed the hot potato of layoffs to the HR department by framing it as a 'strategic restructuring.'
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine literally catching a baked potato fresh from the oven. It's too hot to hold, so you must toss it quickly to someone else. A 'hot potato' issue is the same—uncomfortable and quickly passed on.
Conceptual Metaphor
A PROBLEMATIC ISSUE IS A HOT OBJECT (that must be dropped or passed).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid literal translation 'горячая картошка'. While understood, the direct equivalent is 'скользкая тема' (slippery topic) or 'щекотливый вопрос' (ticklish question).
Common Mistakes
- Using it for a literally hot object (e.g., 'Be careful, that pan is a hot potato!').
- Using it for a popular or desirable thing (e.g., 'The new iPhone is a hot potato this Christmas.').
Practice
Quiz
What does it mean if a topic is described as a 'hot potato' in a meeting?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it functions solely as a noun phrase (e.g., 'a hot potato issue' is common, where 'hot potato' modifies 'issue' as a compound noun modifier).
It originated in the mid-1800s, based on the simple, universal idea of dropping a literally hot potato to avoid burning your hands.
Not inherently. It's a neutral, informal idiom describing a situation's difficulty, not attacking a person.
A 'hot potato' is an existing problem you want to get rid of. 'Pandora's box' is a source of many new, unforeseen problems that are unleashed by an action.